Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester stands on the mound against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadiu in the Bronx borough of New York City, Saturday, September 24, 2011. The Yankees beat the Red Sox, 9-1. (Jim McIsaac/Newsday/MCT)

You can bet Boston fans aren’t singing “love that chicken from Popeye’s.” But the Boston Red Sox pitchers have been humming a different tune.

Jon Lester admitted that the Red Sox pitchers fell into a habit of eating fried chicken from Popeye’s and drank “rally” beers during games they were not starting last season, when the team experienced an inexplicable September collapse out of the MLB playoffs.

“There’s a perception out there that we were up there getting hammered and that wasn’t the case,” Lester told the Boston Globe. “Was it a bad habit? Yes. I should have been on the bench more than I was. But we just played bad baseball as a team in September. We stunk. To be honest, we were doing the same things all season when we had the best record in baseball.”

Lester and his teammates clearly have great taste in food pairings, who doesn’t love fried chicken and beer after all? But the timing is bothersome and is far more unprofessional behavior than the headline grabbing handshake between San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz.

Drinking alcoholic beverages during a game (whether you’re playing or not) is more than unprofessional. It suggests an apathetic attitude during an intense environment of competition.

No one can condone the behavior of the Jims Sunday, but you can at least understand where their passion and emotion is coming from.

How can Red Sox teammates be inspired when their looking at their comrades drinking a Bud Light?

Boston Red Sox catcher Ryan Lavarnway (C) and relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon (to the left of Lavarnway) walk off the field as players from the Baltimore Orioles celebrate. REUTERS/Joe Giza

Jon Lester gave a solemn one-word answer when a reporter asked the Boston Red Sox pitcher what he’ll remember about this season; September.

So in tribute to the Red Sox’s shocking collapse this month, the devastated Red Sox nation and to the recently departed ousted Rex Sox manager Terry Francona, take solace in the fact that today is the last day of this dreadful September.